ADVANCE Program Milestones:
All ADVANCE students must adhere to the following requirements. For Milestones #1-#3, failure to meet these milestones will prevent a student from matriculating to Mason and/or result in termination from ADVANCE. For Milestones #4-#7, failure to meet these milestones may delay matriculation to Mason.
1. Students must complete their 91³Ô¹Ï degree within 4 years of being admitted into ADVANCE. Students are highly encouraged to be continuously enrolled at 91³Ô¹Ï/Mason to support progress towards degree completion.
2. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at 91³Ô¹Ï and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA upon matriculation to Mason.
3. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the fall semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï spring graduation by March 1 or summer graduation by June 1. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the spring semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï fall graduation by October 1.
4. Students must begin developmental coursework no later than the first semester in ADVANCE at 91³Ô¹Ï.
5. Students must take first college-level MTH course and ENG 111 in the semester immediately following the completion of any MDE or EDE courses (excluding summer).
6. In the first 30 credits, students must complete ENG 111 and ENG 112 with a C or better.
7. Students must complete a Mason Core Quantitative Reasoning course equivalent with a C or better no later than one semester before 91³Ô¹Ï graduation. Refer to your pathway to select the appropriate MTH course(s).
A.S. Social Science
| 91³Ô¹Ï | MASON | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91³Ô¹Ï Degree Requirement | 91³Ô¹Ï Course | Credits | Transfer to MASON As | MASON Degree Requirement |
| SDV Course | SDV 100 College Success Skills or | 1 | UNIV 100 | General Elective |
| SDV 101 Orientation to XXX | UNIV 100 | |||
| ENG 111 | ENG 111 College Composition I1 | 3 | ENGH XXX | General Elective |
| HIS Course | HIS 101 Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE or | 3 | HIST 101T | Global History |
| HIS 102 Western Civilizations Post-1600 CE or | HIST 102T | |||
| HIS 112 World Civilizations Post-1500 CE(recommended) | HIST 125 | |||
| MTH 154 or MTH 161 or higher | MTH 154 MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning2 | 3 | MATH 106 | Quantitative |
| ITE 152 or General Education Elective | Any World Language/ASL course sequence 1013 | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | COS Foreign Language |
| Science Course #1 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography or | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| PHY 100 Elements of Physics | PHYS 103 | |||
| ENG 112 | ENG 112 College Composition II1 | 3 | ENGH 101 | Written Comm |
| MTH 155 or MTH 245 or higher | MTH 155 Statistical Reasoning2 or | 3 | STAT 105T | General Elective |
| MTH 245 Statistics I | STAT 250 | |||
| Transfer Elective #2 | Any World Language/ASL course sequence 1023 | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | COS Foreign Language |
| Science Course #2 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| BIO 102 General Biology II or | BIOL 102 | |||
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| ENV 122 Applications in Environmental Science or | EVPP 112/113 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 106 Historical Geology or | GEOL 102/104 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography or | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| PHY 100 Elements of Physics | PHYS 103 | |||
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #1 | GEO 210 People and the Land: An Intro to Cultural Geography | 3 | GGS 103 | Major & COS Soc/Behav |
| CST Course | CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking or | 3 | COMM 100 | Oral Comm |
| CST 110 Introduction to Human Communication | COMM 101 | |||
| Humanities/Fine Arts | Any World Language/ASL course sequence 2013 | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | COS Foreign Language |
| PSY 200 or SOC 200 | PSY 200 Principles of Psychology or | 3 | PSYC 100 | COS BA Requirement |
| SOC 200 Introduction to Sociology | SOCI 101 | |||
| Social/Behavioral Science #2 | GEO 200 Introduction to Physical Geography | 3 | GGS 102 | Major |
| Social/Behavioral Science #3 | GEO 220 World Regional Geography | 4 | GGS 101 | Major & Global Contexts |
| General Education Elective | Any World Language/ASL course sequence 202 or | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | COS Foreign Language or General Elective |
| Any General Education Elective (if placed out of World Language)3 | GMU Equivalent | |||
| Humanities/Fine Arts | ENG 225 Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas or | 3 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | Literature |
| ENG 245 British Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 246 American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 255 World Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 258 African American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 275 Women in Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG Any 200-Level ENG Literature course4 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| Social/Behavioral Science #4 (This elective is not needed if selections for all other requirements total 60 credits or more) | ECO 150 Economic Essentials: Theory & Application | 3 | ECON 100 | General Elective |
| HIS 111 World Civilizations Pre-1500 CE or | HIST L387 | |||
| HIS 203 History of African Civilizations or | HIST 261 | |||
| HIS 231 Introduction to Latin American History or | HIST 271 | |||
| HIS 254 History of Modern East Asian Civilizations or | HIST 252 | |||
| PSY 200 Principles of Psychology or | PSYC 100 | |||
| SOC 200 Introduction to Sociology or | SOCI 101 | |||
| SOC 211 Cultural Anthropology | ANTH 114 | |||
| SOC 266 Race & Ethnicity | SOCI L308 | |||
| SOC 268 Social Problems | SOCI L352 | |||
| Transfer Elective #1 | GIS 101 Introduction to Geospatial Technology | 3 | GGS 110 | Major |
| Total Credits: 60-62 | ||||
For academic policies and procedures, please see 91³Ô¹Ï catalog - http://www.nvcc.edu/catalog/index.html
B.A. Geography
Concentrations: Environmental Geography; Health Geography; Geoanthropology; Urban Planning
| MASON Degree Requirement Sequence | Course | Credits | MASON Core/Degree Equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography Core Courses | GGS 310 Cartographic Design | 3 | Major | |
| Approved foreign language course3 (Students may opt to take two 3-credit language courses, if available) | 6 | Major | ||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Concentration or Additional Program course4,5 | 3 | Major | |
| GIS 311 Geographic Information Systems | ||||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Concentration or Minor course5,6 | 3 | Major | |
| Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course4,5 | ||||
| Geography Electives | Upper-Level GGS elective4 | 3 | Major | |
| Select additional Upper-Level Mason Core Arts, Literature, or Global Understanding Contexts7 | COS BA Requirement | |||
| (Course must be in a different discipline than selected at 91³Ô¹Ï; See: Advisor) | ||||
| General Electives | Upper-Level General Elective (See: Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Approved foreign language course3 | Major | |||
| Core Courses | GGS 300 Quantitative Methods for Geographical Analysis | 3 | Major | |
| GGS 300 Quantitative Methods for Geographical Analysis | ||||
| Breadth and Experience | Approved Regional Course5 | 3 | Major | |
| Upper-Level General Elective (See Advisor) | General Elective | |||
| Breadth and Experience | Approved Regional Course4 | 3 | Major | |
| Approved Concentration or Minor course5,6 | Major | |||
| Gen Ed: Written Communication (Upper-level) | ENGH 302 Advanced Composition | 3 | Written Comm | |
| Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course4,5 | Major | |||
| Breadth and Experience | Approved Systematic Course4 | 3 | Major | |
| General Elective (See: Advisor) | 1-3 | General Elective | ||
| Breadth and Experience | Approved Systematic Course5 | 3 | Major | |
| Approved foreign language course3 | ||||
| Gen Ed: Written Communication (Upper-level) | ENGH 302 Advanced Composition | 3 | Written Comm | |
| Upper-Level GGS elective5 | Major | |||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course5,6 | 3 | Major | |
| Upper-Level GGS Elective4 | Major | |||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course4,5 | 3 | Major | |
| Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course5,6 | Major | |||
| General Electives | General Elective (See: Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| GGS 415 Seminar in Geographic Thought and Methodology | Major & Writing Intensive | |||
| Gen Ed: Apex & Major | GGS 485 Capstone in Geography and Geoinformation Science | 3 | Major & Apex | |
| GGS 415 Seminar in Geographic Thought and Methodology | Writing Intensive | |||
| Gen Ed: Apex & Major | GGS 485 Capstone in Geography and Geoinformation Science | 3 | Apex | |
| Select additional Upper-Level Mason Core Arts, Literature, or Global Understanding6 (Course must be in a different discipline than selected | Major | |||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course4,5 | 3 | Major or General Elective | |
| Upper-Level GGS elective5 | Major | |||
| Concentration/Add'l Program Courses | Approved Upper-Level Concentration or Minor course5,6 | 3 | Major | |
| Upper-Level General Elective (See Advisor) | General Elective | |||
| Geography Electives | GGS elective5 | 3 | Major | |
| Total Credits: 120 | ||||
*Denotes a course that must be taken at George Mason University while attending 91³Ô¹Ï. Failure to complete your co-enrollment course(s) while attending 91³Ô¹Ï can significantly affect your timeline for Mason graduation. Please see your ADVANCE Coach for more information and to enroll.
Important Academic Information:
1Students who complete ENG 111 after Spring 2024 will earn ENGH elective for ENG 111 and ENGH 101 for ENG 112.
2Students who plan to take MTH 245 should take MTH 154 or MTH 161 first. Credit will not be awarded for both MTH 155 and MTH 245.
3Students who test out of languages at 91³Ô¹Ï will need to complete language testing at Mason as well. Students who test out of languages at 91³Ô¹Ï should complete any of the following to replace the language credits, as needed to complete their AS degree requirements: GIS 200, ITE 152, a Mason Core Arts course, and/or any transferable General Education elective.
4200-level ENG literature classes include: ENG 225, ENG 230, ENG 236, ENG 237, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 256, ENG 257, ENG 258, ENG 271, ENG 275, and ENG 279.
5For approved Systematic, Regional, GGS Electives and Concentration courses, please visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/science/geography-geoinformation-science/geography-ba/#requirementstext .
6Students who are not selecting a concentration must choose an established minor or second major that provides 15 unique credits. If 15 unique credits are not available in the chosen minor or second major, additional GGS courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement; please consult with an advisor for details.
7For approved additional Mason Core courses for the COS College BA Requirement, please visit - https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/science/geography-geoinformation-science/geography-ba/#requirementstext .
Additional General Notes & Resources:
• Candidates for a degree in geography must complete the approved GGS geography courses with a minimum GPA of 2.00. Students interested in pursuing a
Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s (BAM) program should contact their advisor in their first term after transferring to Mason. For more information about
BAM programs, visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/science/geography-geoinformation-science/geography-ba/#acceleratedmasterstext .
• For academic policies and procedures, please see Mason catalog - https://catalog.gmu.edu/policies/ .
• Students seeking a bachelor's degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation.
General Education Waiver Policy and Guidance:
• Students who complete a VCCS transfer associate degree (AS, AA, or AFA) will receive a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower division) Mason
Core general education categories, which can be found here: https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/ . To be eligible for the waiver, the students must provide
the Mason Office of Admissions with a final, official transcript reflecting the degree conferral date. As a prerequisite for ENGH 302, ENGH 101 is not waived.
Students must complete ENGH 100 or ENGH 101, or an equivalent, with a C or higher.
• When a course fulfills a Mason Core requirement and a major or college requirement (e.g. Major & Quant), students must complete the course listed on
the pathway to fulfill the major/college requirement. Courses that fulfill only Mason Core Foundation and Exploration categories are recommendations. In
most pathways, ADVANCE students must complete a Quantitative Reasoning course to matriculate through ADVANCE.
• ADVANCE students must complete the associate degree indicated on their pathway (see the ADVANCE Program Milestones listed above). Students who
withdraw from ADVANCE and transfer without the associate degree or UCGS are required to complete each Mason Core general education category.